Spider-Man:The Other Option

Emma, on the other hand, still won't have anything to do with him. Skip assures him it's normal. "Don't take it personally," he says. "She's been like this ever since they came to live here. We're working on it, but it's not yours to worry about, okay?"

Peter does worry. The look in Emma's eyes when she ' s watching him reminds him of the look in Felipe's the night he told Peter about Mariña and the stolen laundry detergent. But Skip's right: there's nothing he can do to convince her he isn't a threat except to not be one. So Peter smiles and keeps his distance whenever they're in the same room, and for now it seems like it's enough. At the very least she no longer hides whenever she sees him.

As for Skip...

Skip is great. From the first he has made it clear that he ' s available should Peter ever want to talk, but he hasn't once been overbearing. Since he doesn' t work, he spends most mornings volunteering with the foster program, and his afternoons are for the girls and their piano lessons and gymnastics and soccer teams. At first Peter is amazed that Skip leaves him all alone in the airy apartment, surrounded by expensive things. But when he voices these concerns Skip just says, " You ' ve been very trustworthy so far, Peter. I'd prefer to bet on your goodness and be disappointed than set an unfair precedent of strictness. You won't disappoint me, will you?"

Peter won't. The more he realizes that his freedom is real, the more desperate he is to keep it. The more approval Skip gives him, the more he craves.

It's why he doesn't tell Skip about the little voice, or about the stash of food.

Besides, the voices are wrong. Whatever is making him add to the stash is wrong. And maybe, just maybe, Felipe was wrong too. Maybe things can turn out okay. Maybe Peter doesn't have to constantly wonder about how this recent streak of good luck will unravel, and maybe the hint of a shudder Peter still feels when he catches Skip looking at him when he thinks Peter isn't paying attention is just another manifestation of the same irrationality — not evidence of something bad, just evidence that Peter himself is a little bit broken. And if that's the case, he's not going to risk this sudden, inexplicable fortune by admitting it. Because even if Felipe was wrong, and even if good things do happen, he was right about one thing: Peter can take care of himself. The night before school starts, Peter receives a surprise.

Having spent the day at the library, feeding an irrational worry that, despite his test scores, he will be behind everyone who had the benefit of an eighth grade education that took place in an actual school, Peter arrives at the apartment that evening to find Skip, the girls, and Ned, gathered around a birthday cake. "Surprise!" they all shout.

And so Peter, flushing, sits down to his first birthday celebration since Ben died.

"Did we surprise you?" Lily asks, crawling into Peter ' s lap after he blows out the candles. "Daddy didn' t tell me either because he said I 'd ruin it."

"Your dad's pretty wise," says Peter. "And yeah, considering my birthday was two months ago, I'd say I'm very surprised."

"It was Ned's idea," says Skip. He' s leaning back in his chair, sipping a beer and watching Peter with a lopsided grin. "He told me you hadn' t had a proper party. He set this all up, I'm just the money man."

"Happy birthday," says Ned. "And before you get all, Oh, Ned, you're too nice, you do too much, yes I am and yes I do. You can repay me by throwing me an awesome surprise party on my birthday. The new Star Wars comes out right around then, hint, hint."

" Happy fourteenth, Peter, " Skip.

says

It is, by far, the best night Peter has had since Ben died. They eat cake play charades, exchange stories, make popcorn. Even Emma joins in for a round of Candyland, though she lets a more-than-willing Lily take charge of drawing her cards and moving her piece. After the girls go to sleep, Peter and Ned stay up playing video games and losing track of the time, until finally Ned's mom calls, and he bids Peter farewell.

"See you at school dude," Ned says as he leaves. He makes the mind blown sign again.

Peter's mind is blown. He's full of cake and snacks. He ' s sleepy and happy, and tomorrow he's going to a real school, where he will attend real classes with his best friend. Peter grins as he closes the door behind Ned, turns around and—

Skip is standing right behind him. Peter jumps, grin sliding off, and takes a step back before he can help himself. Skip is much closer than he usually is, and now that he's nearby Peter can smell the beer on his breath. Skip's had one in his hand all night, but Peter didn't even think about it until now; the smell of bitter yeast makes Peter's head spin with memories of Mrs. Arlington.

He gulps and forces himself to smile. This isn't the Arlingtons. Plenty of adults drink. Peter has seen Skip have a drink with dinner on more than one occasion, though, granted, not usually more than one. Now Skip is clearly a little drunk: his eyes are just slightly out of focus as he smiles down at Peter.

"Thanks for the party," Peter says. "It was really great."

He's hoping Skip will step aside, let him go to bed. Instead, he steps closer.

"You deserve it, you know."

The ghoul is hissing in his ear—Skip is too close, (too close) — but Peter forces himself to smile wider, to silence it. "Thanks Skip. Um, I should get ready for bed, it's—"

"I see you, you know." Skip presses on, his voice slurring just slightly. "You keep your chin up, Peter, but I see how hard this is for you, all this newness. I just think you should know, you're a really remarkable kid. Just really remarkable. After all you've been through … and you ' re so intelligent, so good with the girls… you should be so proud of yourself. I know I am." "Um, thank you, I—"

But before Peter can try to slip around him, Skip leans forward and pulls Peter into a hug.

It's not like Ben's hugs. It's not a quick, affectionate squeeze or a reassuring touch. Skip presses his whole body against Peter's, and since Skip is so much bigger, so much taller, Peter is completely enveloped by it, his arms pinned to his sides. And Skip doesn't let go right away. He hangs on, increasing the pressure and running one hand up and down the length of Peter's back.

Every muscle in Peter's body goes rigid. He can't move—he can't even draw a breath.

(Too close, too close, too close!)

Just when Peter thinks he might snap, Skip inhales deeply, sighs, and releases him. "Go to bed, Peter," he says. "You' ve got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Does Peter imagine it, or does Skip sound faintly disappointed?

He doesn ' t pause long enough to think about it. Heart pounding, still holding his breath, Peter practically runs for his room, where he shuts his door behind him before he allows himself to draw a gulp of air. For the first time, Peter notices there isn't a lock on his door.

"Get a hold of yourself, Parker," he murmurs. "Come on, you're being irrational."

(Aren't I?)

He is. He's being irrational. This is like the food—he's reacting to something that isn't there. There is plenty of food in the house and hugs are normal, a normal way to show affection. He is the one who isn't normal, and if he doesn ' t clamp down on of this he's going to lose everything right when things are finally starting to look up.

"You're being crazy," he says to himself.

(Good things don't happen to Peter Parker) Peter puts his pajamas on quickly and climbs into bed, drawing his blankets up to his chin. He doesn't fall asleep for a long time.

He wakes again less than hour later. Down the hall, someone is screaming.

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